Photosynthesis

MIN by Keiichi TAHARA (Tokyo, Japan)

These photos come from multiple photo sessions I conducted between 1978-1980 with the dancer Min Tanaka, exploring the relationship between physical light and the human body.

We experimented with various types of light, ambiences and seasons. The locale was broad, ranging from the metropolitan to the natural; Paris, Rome, New York, Iceland, Bordeaux, Tokyo, Kujuu-Kurihama and Akigawa-Keikoku. The motive was to observe how a dancer's body adapts to outer stimuli, or to rephrase it: a human body reaching into the light with its raw skin and nerve endings.

Only sounds of the camera clicking and rewinding film accompanied our steps.

Although this work has been nearly abandoned for the past 35 years, today it holds special meaning to the both of us in revisiting our creative starting points.